AZKi

Overview

AZKi is a Japanese VTuber and virtual singer, a member of hololive Production's "hololive 0th Generation." Her birthday is July 1, she stands 158 cm tall and has blood type A. Known affectionately as "Azukichi" and "Azu-chan," she calls herself an eternal 18-year-old who loves music and the internet; her fans are called "Pioneers" (kaitakusha). Cooking is her talent outside music, and she likes Siberian long-tailed tits, music, the internet, and people who keep working hard at what they love.

She dreamed of becoming a voice actress as a child and still enjoys acting, which she says feeds the emotion in her singing. Her idol is Nana Mizuki, and her devotion to Kafu, who debuted around the same time, is well known; they performed together at Kafu's live "Fukakai-ni REBUILDING" in June 2021. Her unit with Tokino Sora, "SorAZ," is regarded as the origin of music units within hololive, and made its major debut on December 20, 2023 on Victor Entertainment.

Career

Debut and the Inonaka Music era

• November 15, 2018: debuted as "Virtual Diva AZKi"; her first single "Creating world" followed on December 28.
• 2019: joined the talent-support project upd8 in February and released "Fake.Fake.Fake" and "Inochi" on April 30 (Minato Aqua was featured in the artwork and MV of the former). On May 19 she joined hololive's independent music label Inonaka Music alongside Hoshimachi Suisei and held her first solo live, "The Shitest Start." She released "Sayonara Hero" and "from A to Z" (the first song she wrote lyrics for) on June 30, and her first album "without U" on November 19. Suisei moved to hololive on December 1, leaving AZKi as the label's only artist.
• 2020: passed 100,000 YouTube subscribers in March and released "Kurogane no Moribito," the ending theme of the game Jinki Resurrection. On September 22 she released SorAZ's first single "Kurenai Ai Chronicle." upd8 ended on December 31.
• 2021: launched her YouTube membership "Pioneers' Guild" in February. At the April 11 live "Stand at the crossroads," she revealed she had originally planned to end her activities in July 2022, but declared she would continue along a new "Route β" instead of the predetermined "Route α." She passed 500,000 subscribers in August.

Move to hololive and major debut

• March–April 2022: Inonaka Music ended with the departure of her longtime producer Tsuranimizu, and on April 1 she moved to hololive as a 0th Generation member.
• July 1, 2023: at her "5th Birthday Live 'DESTiNATiON'" she announced "Route γ": a major debut on Victor Entertainment. She released MAISONdes' "Tokyo Chandelier Rendezvous" on September 28, her major debut EP "Third Map" (3枚目の地図) on October 4, and debuted as SorAZ with Tokino Sora on December 20.
• 2024: SorAZ held Major Debut Live "First Gravity" on January 27. AZKi passed 1 million subscribers on April 27. Her major first album "Route If" (July) was followed by the Major Debut LiVE "Kowairo Entropy" on August 3; tickets sold out instantly and extra shows were held at Toyosu PIT on September 17 and 18. Singles that year included "Umi no Yurei," "Inochi (2024 ver.)," "Arigatou...," "map in the cup," "Shounen yo Ware ni Kaere," "Kagerou no Shirabe" and "Yumekuzu Cake."
• June 25, 2025: announced she would leave Victor Entertainment after the release of the live Blu-ray "Kowairo Entropy," and continue within a hololive label, citing differences in direction. She then released "Mirai Campanella" (July), "Sekai no Shikisai" and "from A to Z (Re:arrange ver.)" (August), "Azuiro BESTIE DAYS" (September), "Re:Start" and "Re:Birth" (November 5) and "Farewell" (November 20), and held "AZKi SOLO LiVE 2025 'Departure'" at Pia Arena MM on November 19.
• May 22–June 7, 2026: a collaboration campaign with Keio Corporation commemorated her 1 million subscribers.

Live and streaming activity

She has appeared in the hololive festival series from "1st fes." (2020) to "7th fes." (2026). Her streams include gaming, singing, chatting and ASMR, which is especially popular. Her GeoGuessr streams, begun in January 2023, drew attention, and by September 2023 she was one of only three officially recognized GeoGuessr players in Japan. She has appeared in the anime Kisei no Fräulein, the game Tokyo 7th Sisters, radio programs, and the 2024 book "hololive Academic Aptitude Test," with tie-ups including Gokurakuyu, YAHOO! Car Navi, OTOTEN2025 and Keio.

Musical style

Debuting as a music-focused VTuber, AZKi sometimes writes her own lyrics and music, with pop and rock as her two pillars. Songs from the Inonaka Music era were split into the pop, translucent "AZKi WHiTE" and the aggressive, fast-paced "AZKi BLaCK," and six fully animated MVs ("AniAZ") were produced. Tsuranimizu praised her emotionally driven delivery, almost "striking with emotion," and her ability to make the same song sound different each time. Critic Tomoyuki Mori noted in May 2020 that she had potential to appeal beyond the virtual-singer category to the J-POP and rock scene.